Overview & Reviews

Swedish-born Volvo has long been a forerunner in safety research, and its vehicles have the crash test scores to prove it. These days, the brand has improved its offerings by crafting vehicles that also offer generous amounts of style and performance.

In Latin, the word "Volvo" means "I roll." Volvo cars have been rolling ever since 1927, when the first vehicle (nicknamed "Jakob") was produced in the city of Gothenburg. The company's founders, Assar Gabrielsson and Gustaf Larsson, put an emphasis on safety, and that dictum still holds true today. The Jakob was joined by the six-cylinder PV651 in 1929, and by 1931, more than 10,000 Volvos had been produced.

Postwar, Volvo unveiled one of its biggest successes, the PV444. By the 1950s, Volvo had begun exporting cars to the U.S., and the PV444 — with its compact size and stylish looks — helped the manufacturer quickly make a name for itself in its new territory. The decade also saw Volvo building on its reputation for being a vanguard in the area of safety; it was the first manufacturer to make vehicles with a three-point safety belt.

The 1960s saw the launch of a new Volvo sports car, the P1800. The car's sculpted good looks helped earn it celebrity status when it was featured on the long-running TV series The Saint, with Roger Moore behind the wheel. Safety features grew more advanced during this decade and Volvo was again at the forefront of the action, offering features such as padded dashboards and energy-resistant crumple zones in front and rear.

Volvo distinguished itself as the exclusive home to a number of valuable new technologies during the 1970s. If you were looking for safety features such as childproof locks, collapsible steering columns and rear-facing child seats during this decade, you'd only find them in a Volvo.

Like BMWs and Saabs, Volvos became an American "yuppie" favorite during the 1980s. The company proved its technological know-how wasn't just limited to safety when it rolled out its first turbocharged car. By the end of the decade, Volvo had unveiled new models like the front-wheel-drive 480 hatchback (for Europe) and the Italian-designed 780 coupe.

In the early '90s, Volvo launched the 850. The car was Volvo's first front-wheel-drive executive car, and teamed performance with the company's trademark attention to safety. The decade also saw Volvo rolling out new models like the S40 and C70 — cars that updated the automaker's boxy image with a more rounded, sculpted aesthetic. The company became part of the Ford family when it was acquired by the automaker in 1998. Ford helped Volvo financially, while Volvo provided Ford with new safety technologies and car platforms. Due to Ford's financial troubles during the American recession, however, Ford sold Volvo to the Chinese automaker Geely in 2010.

It's unknown how Volvo's new owner will guide the brand long term, but chances are Volvo will continue to offer sedans, coupes and SUVs known for their combination of safety and driving excitement.

User Reviews:

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  Do Not Purchase This Car - 2007 Volvo S60
  By Tom - January 22 - 7:16 pm

  I am shocked that this vehicle is allowed to be sold after so many service related issues. My transmission has gone out, the shocks have gone out, the wheel bearings have gone out, the engine needs oil every 800 miles. I have driven a loaner more than this car. Volvo is very unresponsive probably because they are owned by FORD.

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  Run and never look back ! - 2001 Volvo S40
  By 1tickedmom - November 2 - 10:00 am

  When I choose the Volvo S40 I believed that I was purchasing a safe and reliable car with top-notch customer service. WRONG! What a lemon. The paint on the car is chipping off. The power adapter in the car has failed 4times and the service light comes on for no apparent reason(the dealership can never find anything wrong)SRS light has come on 3times in six months and the air bag system had to be replaced twice. The cup holder over the cd player is a joke and the cup holder in the back pulls right(it is currently laying on the back floor of the car). The A/C NEVER gets cold enough (dealer says checks out OK) but Im sweating it out.Bottom line, Run and never look back.

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  I was Robbed! - 2008 Volvo XC90
  By Biggirl7 - October 2 - 7:00 am

  I had alway want a Volvo. Well I bought this Volvo XC-90, Jan 2008. I was robbed. This car has been in the service dept ten times in one month. Plus still not fixed right yet! Maintenance plan is not worth the money if dealership cant fix my Volvo. My parking assist has not worked right yet! It comes up after I am finish parking. Plus side bar on SUV are too high for ladies. I thought I wanted this Volvo, but now I would gave it away for a good BMW. Other bad things with this car is too tight up front, very uncomfortable. After paying 50k for it, gas is about high as the car! This car is not worth the money. I wish I had BMW! Dont believe Volvo.

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  The worst car Ive ever had - 2004 Volvo XC90
  By universaltaste - September 15 - 4:19 pm

  We have a 2004 Volvo XC90 that required our transmission replace 22 months ago with a 4K bill attached to it, then just last week had to have it towed in again. The first time we did not have our vehicle for 3 weeks, and now again one week has passed already. They claim fluid leaked causing severe damage to the car and now the transmission not only needs to be replaced again, but also the radiator, axle shaft, oil cooler, oil line and a host of others to the tune of $7331.90. The car currently has 122K miles, and the last time the transmission was replaced is was well under 100K miles. The dealer has even told me over the phone this fluid leaking a “known problem

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  XC90 Inscription Pit Crew - 2016 Volvo XC90
  By J E Clarke - September 5 - 8:18 pm

  If you have a desire to be part of the Volvo pit crew, purchase yourself an XC90 Hybrid Inscription. We received delivery of the first one in our city just over a year ago, and its been back to the dealer 7 times, receiving software updates for bugs 5 times. Volvo needs to get the electronics working in this car, really disappointing.

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  See my original review for more details; this is a follow up - 2013 Volvo S60
  By raindances - March 16 - 6:22 am

  Everything about this car is junk. Build quality, mechanical quality, transmission programming. I have never had a car I hated this much. Just wish it wasnt leased so I could trade it in. Dont believe what you read. I have driven other examples and they are similarly afflicted.

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  Major Safety Issue - 2017 Volvo XC90
  By Phil - March 10 - 3:04 pm

  On 7 different occasions, my new XC90 automatically and aggressively braked the car while I was driving on a highway because the City Safety collision avoidance system sensed that I was about to get into a head-on collision but there was never a car or object in front of me. The collision avoidance system is defective and brakes the car for no reason. Every time it happened I was driving on a highway and its a miracle that I didnt get rear ended. Volvo was completely unhelpful in figuring out what was wrong. My car was in the service department for 60 out of the first 100 days that I owned it. Volvo kept telling me that they couldnt recreate the problem so there was nothing they could do. The service department at Volvo of White Plains was beyond unhelpful. They were flat out rude and dismissive of my concerns. After several months of this problem, I went on the NHTSA website and found that several other people have reported the same problem. I then had to file the vehicle as a lemon under my state lemon laws. Volvo eventually repurchased the vehicle. This was the worst experience that Ive ever had with a manufacturer. They never once took me seriously even though the car had a major safety problem and several other people have had the same complaint. I bought this car because I thought Volvo made the safest cars. I made a big mistake. Think twice before you buy this car.

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  2016 XC 90 - 2016 Volvo XC90
  By Ro Ta - February 18 - 2:08 am

  This car is very nice while it works. However there are way to many issues with it. Software issues are very common. I basically had to take it to the shop for two months straight. The most frustrating experience was just having the car flat out not start with plashing park (brake service warnings). This has happened like 4 times in 6 months. Not only did this happen on my current Volvo XC 90, I had the same exact 2016 prior to that, in which Volvo ended up buying back. Replaced that car, but the other day I was at the grocery store and boom Same message, car will not start and is currently needing to be towed back to the dealer. I would stay away from Volvo. While the car is super nice, when it works, it is just way to un reliable and has way to many issues. I mean, come on! Its a brand new car!

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  I hate myself for trading my Mercedes GL450 - 2016 Volvo XC90
  By Dr. EA - January 5 - 5:40 am

  I thought Im buying a better car! I traded my confi and very reliable GL450 2010 for this piece of junk! Its definitely not worth $60K. The electronics are terrible, the panel control needs to be reprogrammed to make it user friendly, 9 month later I still struggle to maneuver it and Im techy savvy! The A/C is not reliable goes from silent to wind tunnel and we can barely hear each other in the car. This past summer the entire car blacked out during a trip on the highway, it was 108F outside and the near exit was 8 miles away...we melted, let alone the entire car was out power (no lights, radio, A/C etc.), only the engine was running! This happened 3 times so far! The panel also has tons of buggs and crashes very frequently. The brakes squeak! I took it to the dealer who are very helpful but was told the rotors are not available and are on back-order! several recalls so far cant count them!! I have a parking aid, the sensor doesnt work 9 out of 10!! I paid for it but dont use it!! The app has a starter that 9out 10 doesnt work and never starts the car!! totally unreliable!! Last thing, the trunk controls buttons (front and back) are extremely slow responders (it takes sometimes 3-5 seconds before they respond, which led to an accident, backed the car while the trunk was open thinking it was closed!! AVOID THIS CAR, until they fix it!!